"With eight short stories and a novella that travel from dusty city streets to humid beaches, Cristina Henriquez carves out a distinctive and unforgettable vision of contemporary Panama." "In "Yanina," a young man's fidelity is tested when a new living situation strains his relationship with his girlfriend. For the young woman. In "Ashes," the very notion of fidelity is shattered - and her lover's philandering is only one link in a chain of traumatic events that begins with her mother's death. In "Mercury," an American girl visits her grandparents in Panama while her parents divorce at home, and attempts to connect with her ailing grandfather in broken Spanish that he'll never understand. Again and again, characters find their fates irrevocably tied to those of their families - in "Beautiful," as fortunes rise; and in "Come Together, Fall Apart," as they collapse." These are stories of family bonds and generational conflicts, youthful infatuation and genuine passion that are tender, ambitious, and unflinching.